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PEUGEOT has celebrated the 100th anniversary of its win at the 1916 Indianapolis 500 by releasing a futuristic hybrid supercar concept, dubbed the L500 R HYbrid.

The striking plug-in hybrid sportscar is powered by a pair of electric motors and a petrol engine of unspecified size and configuration to achieve a combined output of 373kW/730Nm, propelling the 1000kg concept from 0-100km/h in just 2.5 seconds.

Stylistically, the eye-popping L500 R HYbrid follows in the footsteps of previously-released Peugeot concepts such as the Onyx, shown at the 2012 Paris motor show, and the Fractal electric concept revealed at last year's Frankfurt show, with its low-slung, wide profile and angular design.

From the front, it features a low-set bonnet with a small grille that sprouts wheel arches out the side to fit large wheels that are more than half the height of the whole car.

The one-metre high profile is emphasised by the almost flat windscreen and extremely narrow side windows, and a long, elongated rear end shows a space-age tail design that is a throwback to the original L45 model that won the 1916 Indianapolis 500.

Peugeot continues the futuristic angle with the design of the interior, with a one-seater cockpit that the French car-maker says is “deliberately designed to form an individual floating capsule enclosed in the bodywork”.

The concept’s i-Cockpit – versions of which are already seen in production Peugeots such as the 308 – features a racing-style steering wheel, as well as a pair of holograms that show information via dual disc displays.

As a throwback to the two-seater L45, Peugeot offers a virtual reality experience, which simulates a co-pilot and an amplified real-time driving experience through a virtual reality headset.

The blue and black colour scheme is also a salute to the original L45, which managed an average speed of 135km/h when it took out the Indy 500 a century ago.

The L500 R HYbrid also pays tribute to the team of young drivers known as the “Charlatans”, who designed a series of racers that found great success on the track including the L76, the first car in the world to use a four-cylinder engine with four valves per cylinder plus a dual overhead camshaft.

Racing the cars that they produced, the Charlatans were able to achieve three victories at the Indy 500 between 1913 and 1919.